The Awards and Scholarship Committee is soliciting nominations for several deserving individuals to receive awards at the 31^st Annual American Fisheries Society Tidewater Chapter Meeting being held March 9-11 at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Brock Environmental Center in Virginia Beach, Va.  Specific awards to be given are:  Conservation, Excellence in Fisheries Education, and Meritorious Service.  In addition, the Committee will be accepting applications for the Eileen Setzler-Hamilton Memorial Scholarship.

The Conservation Award is given to an individual, resource management agency, business or nonprofit organization that the Chapter deems has accomplished notable fisheries or habitat conservation activities.  This past year, the Chapter recognized former Maryland State Senator C. Bernard “Bernie” Fowler, particularly owing to his work with the annual “Senator Bernie Fowler Patuxent River Wade-In.”

Dr. Thomas J. Miller, professor at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES), as well as director of the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory (CBL), was the recipient of the 2015 Excellence in Fisheries Education Award.  The award is given to an individual who has achieved excellence in teaching and student advising in the field of fisheries science or closely-related curriculum, and who also encourages student participation in American Fisheries Society, Tidewater Chapter, and other fisheries-related meetings.

The Meritorious Service Award is given to a member of the Chapter for their unswerving loyalty, dedication and service in advancing the programs, objectives and long-term goals of the Chapter.  This year’s recipient was Stephanie McInerny, Chapter secretary and treasurer since 2006.

The Eileen Setzler-Hamilton Memorial Scholarship also is awarded at the Chapter’s annual meeting.  The $500 scholarship goes to an outstanding graduate student currently enrolled in a fisheries science or closely-related curriculum who has displayed a commitment to excellence in research, teaching, professional undertakings, public education, and community service.  This award was created in 2003 to remember Dr. Eileen Setzler-Hamilton, a long-time member of the American Fisheries Society and fourth President (1989) of the Tidewater Chapter.  The “Eileen Award” winner for 2016 was Rebecca Peters, a master’s student in the Marine-Estuarine-Environmental Sciences Graduate Program at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES).

Please help the Awards and Scholarship Committee by nominating deserving individuals for these awards.  Send nominations, complete with brief description of why you think they deserve the award, by Monday, Feb. 6 to Sara Mirabilio, the Awards and Scholarship Committee chair, at [email protected].

Application instructions and forms for the Eileen Setzler-Hamilton Memorial Scholarship must be requested from Mirabilio directly.  The Chapter website is down for an undetermined amount of time owing to a host web update.  Scholarship application materials also should be sent via email by Feb. 6.

Eileen Setzler-Hamilton Memorial Scholarship Application Links:

For questions or concerns regarding awards and scholarships, contact Mirabilio at 252-475-5488.